# Mario Grandi



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

So, I got my new Mario Grandi in today and I really like it. It has a light colored finish which really shows the grain, a military push mount stem, a metal band around the stem (at the price point I doubt it is silver, but I'm not sure) and a lucite (or maybe vulcanite) band around the shank. It is a fairly short pipe with a pot shape. It is hand-made, and I got it for under $70 shipped. It is a very nice looking pipe.





































So, to break it in I smoked 1/2 a bowl of Esoterica Tilbury in it. Tilbury is a Virginia/Burley blend. There was no gurgling or whistling from the pipe (I would have been very disappointed if there was). The bowl is a pretty normal size, with a decent thickness to it- the walls of the pipe never got hot enough to be anywhere near uncomfortable to hold.

It is short and light, but with a normal sized bowl. So, I should be able to get a decent amount of time out of a smoke with it, yet it is small enough to be very comfortable to clench (not always the case with a straight pipe).

When I was finished, I had absolutely no trouble getting a pipe cleaner to pass through into the bowl. It is drilled straight and true.

I am a big fan of Italian pipes. For a long time, one of my favorite pipes is a Fe Ro I bought years ago (I haven't found much about Fe Ro, but it appears to be the budget brand for one of the higher priced Italian makers). I've recently become a huge Savinelli fan, going from none before January 2011, to 5 now. I absolutely love my new Radice. We all know the reputations of big names like Castello. Well, I had only first heard of Mario Grandi quite recently. I am definitely going to be on the lookout for more Mario Grandi's, I'm sold.


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## mrsmitty (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks for the review Jeff, I've been eye-balling these on eBay for quite some time.


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## Coffee-Cup (Jan 26, 2010)

mrsmitty said:


> Thanks for the review Jeff, I've been eye-balling these on eBay for quiet some time.


Beautiful pipe Jeff!ipe: Josh, I am another one who is fascinated with Mario Grandi pipes; especially since I am fond of big and tall pipes.:ranger:


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

mrsmitty said:


> Thanks for the review Jeff, I've been eye-balling these on eBay for quiet some time.


Hmm, you know, the more I think about it, the pipe really sucks. Anyone would be crazy to buy a Grandi. You may want to stay away from them...

After I buy three or four more and have "enough" to _really_ give them an evaluation, I'll maybe change my mind and recommend them. In the meantime, everyone should wait until I have bought 3 or 4 more and been the tester and take the risk. Yup, I'm that generous, I'm willing to do that for you all :humble:

That'll teach me to encourage people to compete with me on Ebay for the same thing I'll be looking to buy :doh:


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## mrsmitty (Jan 22, 2009)

Jeff10236 said:


> Hmm, you know, the more I think about it, the pipe really sucks. Anyone would be crazy to buy a Grandi. You may want to stay away from them...
> 
> After I buy three or four more and have "enough" to _really_ give them an evaluation, I'll maybe change my mind and recommend them. In the meantime, everyone should wait until I have bought 3 or 4 more and been the tester and take the risk. Yup, I'm that generous, I'm willing to do that for you all :humble:
> 
> That'll teach me to encourage people to compete with me on Ebay for the same thing I'll be looking to buy :doh:


Haha, luckily for us they seem to be plentiful on eBay.


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

mrsmitty said:


> Haha, luckily for us they seem to be plentiful on eBay.


And they are usually "buy it now" auctions, so while someone may be more decisive and snatch one up you are looking at, we won't be pushing the price up bidding against each other.


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## shotokun16 (Jul 5, 2010)

Lol Jeff

Nice review! I have yet puffed my mario grandi and will give it a go nextweek with some Virginians. Anyways, great looking pipe!


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

Good review! I really like Mario Grandis and have 10 of them. I like them for their freehands, which are pretty whimsical in design. Many of them are affordable copies of famous maker pipes costing 10X+ more so they are very economical. THeir service is amazing as I get them in 2-3 days shipped from Italy.

Just one question. Do you have huge hands Jeff10236? Reason why I ask is because MGs are typically on the large size, but that pipe in your hands looks tiny!


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

CWL said:


> Good review! I really like Mario Grandis and have 10 of them. I like them for their freehands, which are pretty whimsical in design. Many of them are affordable copies of famous maker pipes costing 10X+ more so they are very economical. THeir service is amazing as I get them in 2-3 days shipped from Italy.
> 
> Just one question. Do you have huge hands Jeff10236? Reason why I ask is because MGs are typically on the large size, but that pipe in your hands looks tiny!


I have short but thick fingers (and I try to play guitar :laugh, but that is a fairly short pipe.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

i wanna snag one of these sometime, good to know they're nicely made 

i like the color and some of the shapes are pretty cool 

edit: i like the one you got, its nice n small. ill have to look for it


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Zogg said:


> i wanna snag one of these sometime, good to know they're nicely made
> 
> i like the color and some of the shapes are pretty cool
> 
> edit: i like the one you got, its nice n small. ill have to look for it


Since I bought it, I've found myself looking at the Grandi's every time I get on Ebay. I haven't seen one quite like mine, but I have seen a couple smaller pipes:

Here's a nosewarmer that the description says has a large bowl (maybe large for a nosewarmer?) but appears to my eyes to have a normal sized bowl:
BEAUTIFUL MARIO GRANDI STUBBY NOSEWARMER PIPE | eBay

Here's one I thought about when I saw it today, but decided against. It seems to have a very similarly proportioned bowl as mine:

PIPE MARIO GRANDI ITALY BRIAR SMOOTH FIAMMATA NEW PIPES - eBay (item 370496253294 end time Apr-01-11 11:25:59 PDT)

There was another that seemed similarly proportioned, but I'm not listing it for you because it is near the top of _my_ shopping list , sorry.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

haha, i wont be grabbing another pipe soon enough to steal your ebay stalking XD

need to try out more tobacco.. plus i smoke cigars and recently got a bunch.. so im a little backed up (certainly not a bad situation)


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## donovanrichardson (Nov 10, 2010)

Very sharp looking pipe Jeff, I like the looks of that quite a bit!


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Man am I loving this pipe. I smoked it Thursday night, let it sit Friday, and despite having over 20 pipes to choose from I smoked it again yesterday after only minimal rest and I'm really fighting the urge to take it out with no rest for another smoke today. 

I've wanted the Savinelli 320 shape for a while (bear with me, it will be related). I finally bought one a couple weeks ago on Ebay (coming from Berlin with cheap shipping so it isn't here yet) and I bought another yesterday as well so that it will get enough rest and I won't be tempted to over-smoke the pipe with little rest. So, what do you think? Should I get another Mario Brandi just to insure that each can get some rest between smokes? Sounds like a good excuse for another pipe to me 

Oh, yesterday's smoke, still seeing some nice smoking characteristics. No gurgling or whistling, the thick walls are still staying cool, great draw, I'm a clencher and it clenches quite easily, it is more than just a good looking pipe- it is a terrific smoker.


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## shannensmall (Jun 30, 2010)

Zogg said:


> edit: i like the one you got, its nice n small. ill have to look for it


I've not ever seen 2 of the same pipes for sale from him. That leads me to think they are all one-offs. Anyone know for sure?

Jeff, I'm stoked to hear all this praise about your pipe. I'm def a fan of his work and can't wait to start buying his pipes.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

shannensmall said:


> I've not ever seen 2 of the same pipes for sale from him. That leads me to think they are all one-offs. Anyone know for sure?
> 
> Jeff, I'm stoked to hear all this praise about your pipe. I'm def a fan of his work and can't wait to start buying his pipes.


thats what im thinking as well, which is kinda cool if theyre all one of a kind.


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## sounds7 (Mar 25, 2009)

Every one of there pipes is a one of a kind. I have two Mario Grandi pipes and they are regulars in my rotation. One is dedicated to my favorite virginia "Royal yacht" . Wonderful itallian workmanship at a great price.interesting youtube links showing them at work
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=mario+grandi+pipes&aq=0&oq=Mario+Grandi

Here is an old thread I did on them and the maker actually responded in the thread through me


> "Hi,
> we've just read your pipe forum and the comments written in it.
> Please, copy our message there.
> we want to thank you and the other smokers for the positive comments on our work and pipes.
> ...


- futurepipes
http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/250872-mario-grandi-pipes-rome-italy.html


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

He he, already added another...Auction just completed moments ago on a used estate Mario Grandi. In the title the guy said it was smoked once, in the text he said "a few times", either way it looks nearly new from the photos and I got it for less than $45 with shipping so hopefully I'll be happy. I now have two Mario Grandi pipes, none ordered from "futurepipes" (the other was from timkellyman on Ebay who seems to be the other source of new Mario Grandi's, and who also has fast shipping). I may have to order one from futurepipes still, just so I can say I ordered one direct from the source.

Mario Grandi Briar Pipe Only smoked once! - eBay (item 170620062345 end time Mar-27-11 19:17:20 PDT)


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## mrsmitty (Jan 22, 2009)

Jeff10236 said:


> He he, already added another...Auction just completed moments ago on a used estate Mario Grandi. In the title the guy said it was smoked once, in the text he said "a few times", either way it looks nearly new from the photos and I got it for less than $45 with shipping so hopefully I'll be happy. I now have two Mario Grandi pipes, none ordered from "futurepipes" (the other was from timkellyman on Ebay who seems to be the other source of new Mario Grandi's, and who also has fast shipping). I may have to order one from futurepipes still, just so I can say I ordered one direct from the source.
> 
> Mario Grandi Briar Pipe Only smoked once! - eBay (item 170620062345 end time Mar-27-11 19:17:20 PDT)


Dang that's a nice looking pipe Jeff. You're lucky I didn't bid against you though lol.


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## shannensmall (Jun 30, 2010)

now that was a steal at 45 bucks!! Nice pipe man.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

Jeff10236 said:


> He he, already added another...Auction just completed moments ago on a used estate Mario Grandi. In the title the guy said it was smoked once, in the text he said "a few times", either way it looks nearly new from the photos and I got it for less than $45 with shipping so hopefully I'll be happy. I now have two Mario Grandi pipes, none ordered from "futurepipes" (the other was from timkellyman on Ebay who seems to be the other source of new Mario Grandi's, and who also has fast shipping). I may have to order one from futurepipes still, just so I can say I ordered one direct from the source.
> 
> Mario Grandi Briar Pipe Only smoked once! - eBay (item 170620062345 end time Mar-27-11 19:17:20 PDT)


thats the one I was eyeing but i got 2 pipes in the last week (my first 2 lol) so i passed  lemme know how it is, it looks awesome.


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## ChrisD (Apr 10, 2011)

I really want a Mario Grandi!


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

So, I have had some more experience with my two Mario Grandi pipes, and I do still love them, but I also better understand why they are so inexpensive (for handmade pipes).

They look good, they feel good, they use nice briar, and they smoke very nicely. Part of it may be the direct marketing model they use with Ebay and no middlemen, but that is only part of it. In areas that you don't normally see, where the stem goes enters the shank, the inner shank, some of the metal work, you can see short cuts. Some tool marks on the metal, the end of one of my stems is a little rough, the end of one of the shank of one of my pipes has a mark where someone's hand probably slipped while making the pipe, and I know others have had pipes with less than straight drillings.

The best I can compare it to is CZ guns. They look good, they shoot well, they are accurate and reliable, they fit most people's hands very well. They are good guns. Some owners will compare them to guns costing nearly twice as much. However, when you look at some of the small detail work, the machining inside the gun that you don't really see, they don't have the attention to detail of the more expensive guns with some very apparent tool marks. They are great functionally, but they leave a little to be desired when it comes to attention to detail and cutting corners (again, nothing that effects functionality).

These are similar. They are nice pipes, they smoke well, they look good. However, some corners had to be cut in order to get a handmade pipe with nice briar at the price of a decent machine/factory made pipe. If those details will bother you, spend the extra $100-200 to get the higher end handmades. If they won't, you will get a beautiful handmade pipe that is a great smoker for $60-150.

Where am I on this? I plan to buy another Mario Grandi or two in the next couple months, and I have a few on my Ebay watch list right now.


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## bent-1 (Feb 3, 2011)

Nice looking pipe. Agreed, I think they're the best deal on the market. I have 12 in my rotation, all good smokers.

Soon as the classifieds open up, I'll be listing a couple Mario Grandi's, but have to wait until May 4th.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

Jeff10236 said:


> So, I have had some more experience with my two Mario Grandi pipes, and I do still love them, but I also better understand why they are so inexpensive (for handmade pipes).
> 
> They look good, they feel good, they use nice briar, and they smoke very nicely. Part of it may be the direct marketing model they use with Ebay and no middlemen, but that is only part of it. In areas that you don't normally see, where the stem goes enters the shank, the inner shank, some of the metal work, you can see short cuts. Some tool marks on the metal, the end of one of my stems is a little rough, the end of one of the shank of one of my pipes has a mark where someone's hand probably slipped while making the pipe, and I know others have had pipes with less than straight drillings.
> 
> ...


this! While there might be a little shoddy work (some have said they've seen fillings show in the shank or deep int he bowl even), i think you definitely get what you pay for. I don't have ****** and therefore cant buy anyone on ebay, so i won't be getting a mario grandi, though i certainly would like to try one. they're quite pretty.


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